Science and Technology Studies Commons^™

Beads And Pendants From The Tumuli Cemeteries At Wadi Qitna And Kalabsha-South, Nubia, Joanna Then-Obłuska

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

More than 500 beads and pendants were excavated by a Czechoslovakian team in the early 1960s at two sites in Lower Nubia. The beads were associated with 40 tumuli in the Wadi Qitna cemetery and two tumuli in the Kalabsha-South cemetery. These 4th-century cemeteries are related to the Blemmyes, the Eastern Desert dwellers whose pottery has been commonly recognized in the region between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea coast at a time of intensive overseas trade contacts. The bead assemblage, stored at the Naprstek Museum in Prague, was recently restudied and its materials and parallels could be more …

Bead Netting And Plaiting Techniques In The Peranakan World, Valerie Hector

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

It has long been recognized that the Peranakan Chinese peoples of Southeast Asia were expert bead embroiderers. As it happens, they were also expert bead netters and plaiters. After establishing a conceptual framework for discussing bead netting and plaiting techniques in general, this article discusses 14 pieces of Peranakan Chinese (or Minangkabau) beadwork and various techniques. The techniques likely derived not just from Europe, as early researchers tended to assume, but from island Southeast Asia and China as well. Knowledge of these and other needleworking techniques helped Peranakan beaders devise radically new permutations, some of them highly complex. Additional factors …

Imitation Amber Beads Of Phenolic Resin From The African Trade, Rosanna Falabella

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Examination of contemporary beads with African provenance reveals large quantities of imitation amber beads made of phenol-formaldehyde thermosetting resins (PFs). This article delves into the early industrial history of PFs and their use in the production of imitation amber and bead materials. Attempts to discover actual sources that manufactured imitation amber beads for export to Africa and the time frame have not been very fruitful. While evidence exists that PFs were widely used as amber substitutes within Europe, only a few post-WWII references explicitly report the export of imitation amber PF beads to Africa. However they arrived in Africa, the …

Beads: Journal Of The Society Of Bead Researchers - Volume 28 (Complete)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents (V. 27, 2015)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

From The Past: Indians Of U.S. Spurn All Beads Except Italy’S

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Unattributed newspaper article, probably New York City (a shorter version appeared in The Review, Dayton, Ohio, Nov. 15, 1934). It presents both fact and some fiction, like the Czechs not being able to “horn in” and the Italian beads being made near Milan.

Ceramics And Glass Beads As Symbolic Mixed Media In Colonial Native North America, Gregory A. Waselkov, David W. Morgan, Billie Coleman

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Native Americans rarely adorned ceramic objects with glass beads, despite the millions of beads introduced by Europeans through trade. Bead-decorated ceramics have been reported from only nine sites in North America, perhaps due to a tendency for archaeologists to overlook or misclassify bead-inlaid pottery. The 40 artifacts represent widely divergent ethnic groups separated from each other culturally, as well as by great distances in space and time. Yet they display a remarkable consistency in the pattern of bead arrangement and use of color. Colored glass beads stand in for human eyes in effigy smoking …

A 17th-Century Glass Bead Factory At Hammersmith Embankment, London, England, Karlis Karklins, Laure Dussubieux, Ron G.V. Hancock

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Excavations in 2001 and 2005 at Hammersmith Embankment in West London uncovered the remains of two glass furnaces with associated wasters relating to the manufacture of drawn glass beads during the second quarter of the 17th century. The site is significant as it represents the first archaeological evidence for the production of glass beads in post-medieval England. A preliminary study of the recovered material reveals the presence of 43 different bead varieties, many with stripes and multiple layers. While a number have not yet been observed elsewhere, a few have correlatives at a contemporary bead production site in Amsterdam, as …

Front Matter

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Elite Dress And Regional Identity: Chimú-Inka Perforated Ornaments From Samanco, Nepeña Valley, Coastal Peru, Benjamin Carter, Matthew Helmer

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

This article addresses two central components of the study of perforated ornaments recovered from archaeological contexts: 1) the explication and analysis of the relationship between perforated ornaments and identity production, and 2) the collection of data specific to perforated ornaments. By comparing perforated ornaments from the Chimú-Inka period (ca. 1470-1532) elite tomb at Samanco, Peru, to those from other sites, patterns in the use of perforated ornaments in identity negotiation may be identified and assessed. We demonstrate that perforated ornaments were deployed to demonstrate local, regional, and imperial identities, though in an ambiguous way that could have been mis- or …

Beads: Journal Of The Society Of Bead Researchers - Volume 27 (Complete)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Reviews And End Matter

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Photography of Personal Adornment, by Robert K. Liu, reviewed by Alice Scherer

Beads from Jablonec: A History in Beads, by Floor Kaspers, reviewed by Margret Carey

Journal: Borneo International Beads Conference 2015, edited by Heidi Munan and Anita MacGillivray, reviewed by Ann Armstrong

Beads And Pendants From Sedeinga, Nubia, Joanna Then-Obłuska

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Excavations conducted during the 2009-2014 seasons at the burial site of Sedeinga, Nubia, produced 3,400 beads and pendants of various materials which date to the Late Napatan and Meroitic periods, ca. 400 B.C.-A.D. 300. The chronological, geographical, and political situation of the site made the bead assemblage exceptionally rich in organic and inorganic materials as well as the technologies used to make the objects. During a period dominated by faience and glass in bead production, the use of organics and stones indicates strong links with the neighboring Nubian deserts, an overland connection with the Red Sea coast, and, surprisingly, an …

Pipeclay Beads From Norton St Philip, England, Marek Lewcun

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

In 17th-century England, the village of Norton St Philip was well known as a center for the manufacture of clay tobacco pipes. In recent years, however, discoveries have shown that pipes were not the only things they made, as among a variety of interesting objects are some quite remarkable beads.

Reviews And End Matter

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Floral Journey: Native North American Beadwork, by Lois Sherr Dubin, reviewed by Alice Scherer

World on a String: A Companion for Bead Lovers, by Diana Friedberg, reviewed by Lois Rose Rose

Table Of Contents (V. 26, 2014)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Shell And Glass Beads From The Tombs Of Kindoki, Mbanza Nsundi, Lower Congo, Charlotte Verhaeghe, Bernard-Olivier Clist, Chantal Fontaine

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

The ancient Kingdom of Kongo originated in Central Africa in the 14th century. In the 15th century, the Portuguese organized tight contacts with the Bakongo. From then on European goods gained new significance in the local culture and even found their way into funerary rites. Among the most important grave goods in the Kingdom of Kongo were shell and glass beads. They occur in many tombs and symbolize wealth, status, or femininity. At the burial site of Kindoki, linked with the former capital of Kongo's Nsundi province, a great number of shell and glass beads were found together with symbols …

Glass Beads From Jar Burials Of The 15th-17th Centuries In The Cardamom Mountains Of Cambodia, Alison Carter, Nancy Beavan

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

A variety of glass beads were encountered in jar burials dating to the 15th-17th centuries found on rock ledges in remote portions of the Cardamom Mountains in southern Cambodia. These burials represent a mortuary ritual in which defleshed bones, often from multiple individuals, were deposited in large ceramic jars predominantly from Thai kilns. Despite the isolated location, the jars and glass beads suggest that the people buried in the jars were active participants in exchange networks. The identification of different compositional types of glass beads can be related to possible trade networks with the lowlands and maritime Southeast Asia. Using …

From The Past (1854): A Chapter On Necklaces, Old And New, Mrs. White

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Originally published in Godey's Magazine and Lady's Book in 1854 (pp. 213-216), this article presents a brief history of necklaces among the classic Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, as well as the British, from the perspective of an educated English lady. It is an instructive early study of strung adornments based on antiquarian, historical, and literary sources.

Archaeometrical Analysis Of Glass Beads: Potential, Limitations, And Results, Adelphine Bonneau, Jean-François Moreau, Ron G.V. Hancock

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Over the past few decades, several new analytical techniques have been used to determine the composition and the likely production centers of glass beads found at archaeological sites around the world. Made since antiquity, glass beads are important artifacts which can provide much more information than their small size suggests. This article reviews the most common analytical techniques used to study glass beads - optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), and Raman spectroscopy - and discusses their potential, limitations, and what results may be …

Historical Descriptions Of Malay "Beadwork", Hwei-Fe'n Cheah

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Little has been published in English about Malay ceremonial textiles. This article relates early-20th-century beaded examples to historical descriptions and court literature to illustrate the link between beaded and bejeweled hangings.

Front Matter

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Beads: Journal Of The Society Of Bead Researchers - Volume 26 (Complete)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Captions And Color Plates (V. 26, 2014)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Glass Beads From Champlain's Habitation On Saint Croix Island, Maine, 1604-1613, James W. Bradley

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

One of the earliest French attempts at settlement in northeastern North America occurred on a small island in the St. Croix River along the Maine/New Brunswick border. Built under the auspices of Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, and his young lieutenant, Samuel de Champlain, this settlement barely survived the winter of 1604-1605 and was abandoned the following summer. Given its clear historical association and brief occupation, the glass beads from St. Croix Island are an important archaeological marker for reconstructing French influence during the first decades of the 17th century. Knowing who used these beads in trade, however, does not …

Front Matter

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents (V. 25, 2013)

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

No abstract provided.

Early Chinese Faience And Glass Beads And Pendants, Simon Kwan

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

The earliest Chinese beads and pendants were composed of faience and appeared during the early Western Zhou period, around the 11th Century B.C. True glass began to be made about the time of the Spring and Autumn period (771-467 B.C.). An amazing variety of beautiful "dragonfly-eye beads" appeared in China during the Warring States period (475-221 B.C.), but these were imported and not local products. The complex eye beads were replaced during the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) by small, plain glass beads generally intended to be strung together. Perforated glass ear spools were also popular during this period and …

Chinese Bead Curtains, Past And Present, Valerie Hector

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Relatively little is known about how beads were combined to form larger structures in China. To address this situation, this paper focuses on Chinese bead curtains. Adopting an approach that is broad rather than deep and empirical rather than theoretical, it collates evidence from the textual, material, oral, and pictorial records to consider bead curtains from various perspectives. To begin, this study defines bead curtains as textiles, door and window ornaments, screens, and types of beadwork. It then discusses bead curtains of the imperial era (221 B.C.-A.D. 1911) as they are referenced in the Chinese textual record from the 4th …

Reviews And End Matter

BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Zhongguo gudai zhuzi (Chinese Ancient Beads), by Zhu Xiaoli, reviewed by Valerie Hector

Journal: Borneo International Beads Conference 2013, edited by Heidi Munan and Kay Margaret Lyons, reviewed by Karlis Karklins

Glass Beads: Selections from The Corning Museum of Glass, by Adrienne V. Gennett, reviewed by Gretchen Dunn.